Queenslayer
by TennantsLittleKitten
Summary: Cersei's reign has reached its most violent peak. This is the story of the Queenslayer.


Hello!  
So, I've been a fan of GOT for quite a while, but honestly I didn't watch every episode or didn't pay enough attention to previous seasons due to real life things such as school and whatnot. But now, I've gone all-in with my love for Jaime and Brienne and I really gotta love a pairing to start creating fics.  
So I hope you readers out there in AO3 land will like it. I haven't read far enough into the books to get to Jaime and Brienne's adventures and it's been a while since I've seen all their episodes together. Thus, please bear with me if I'm out of character.  
This fic popped into my head one day after reading about the Valonqar in Cersei's prophecy and what it might mean.

Happy shipping and happy reading!

-x-

"On behalf of the people of King's Landing and the Seven Kingdoms, I hereby sentence thee to death, Queen Cersei of House Lannister." The Wench's breath was heaving as she spoke, her face bloodied and bruised. The body of the Mountain lay slain to one side, his life's essence staining the marbled floors of the throne room.

The Queen had fallen to her bottom, arms supporting her as she leaned as far back as she could manage. The coolness of Valyrian steel was pressed tight against her throat, seconds away from ending her reign.

"Brienne!" echoed a voice suddenly from behind. It was soft and familiar, yet spoke with dire urgency.

The Wench turned slight of head towards the speaker. Though she was startled by his presence, Oathkeeper's hold over the Mad Queen never wavered.

"Jaime!" screeched Cersei, "Get this hideous beast away from me!" But the Wench pressed her blade closer, halting the Queen's plea.

"Ser Jaime," spoke Brienne, "please. You must leave." The voice of the lady knight was desperate; face refusing to make contact with those emerald eyes.

"Brienne, you don't have to do this," he begged as he moved a few paces nearer.

"But I must, Ser Jaime. You know better than anyone why." She then gazed upwards. The Kingslayer was as tall and lean as she had remembered him to be when they last met at Riverrun. He stood there midstride, gathering in the sight that lay before him. And as his eyesight met Brienne's, within her sapphire eyes he recognized her sadness. Ser Jaime knew that she fully understood the consequences to her actions, yet still he continued to plead.

"You will be tried for treason and you won't ever see Tarth again. The history books will remember you merely as the Queenslayer; not for the all the good you have done in this world." His words turned into frantic ramblings, tumbling from his lips in an outpour of concern on her behalf.

"The sacrifice of one to save the many. _That_ is a cause I am willing to die for, Ser Jaime, whether mine reasons are understood or not." The Wench's face was stern, yet Jaime still could sense her inner conflicts. And in that moment, as he stared upon her in complete understanding and compassion, something caught in her chest. It was a feeling she had become all too familiar with whilst in Ser Jaime's presence; yet somehow she had never completely grown immune.

Just then a flash of steel caught the eye of the Kingslayer. He shouted out a warning just as the Queen lunged at the Wench with her hidden dagger. Brienne reacted, but the steel managed to gash deeply across her belly. Oathkeeper fell to the floor with a loud clangor as the Wench doubled, clenching her bleeding stomach.

"One signal from me and the Dragon Queen's forces shall burn," snarled Cersei as she stood and closed in on Lady Brienne. "But first you must die, Beast!"

Oathkeeper was beyond Brienne's reach as she was forced backwards upon her knees. She was left defenseless as she desperately tried to conjure a solution. No resolve manifested and so Brienne could do nothing more than look bravely into the fiery, vengeful eyes of her attacker.

To the Lady of Tarth's astonishment, a golden arm encircled the Queen's neck from behind. Cersei was pulled back and she wailed in surprise. "Brother! Are you mad?!" she exclaimed. But as she wriggled in her outrage, Ser Jaime tightened his grip.

"Don't do this, Cersei," he warned.

"I need to! All these years we've worked to secure the throne; for our Father and for our children. I finally have achieved that power! We came into this world together and now, Jaime, we can rule the Seven Kingdoms just as we always dreamed!"

"Listen to yourself," he growled in the Queen's ear. "There is no _us_ anymore. You have killed countless innocent people. You have burned villages merely due to whispers of opposition against your reign. That is not the Cersei Lannister I once loved. And how dare you speak of our children! They each died as a result of your actions; because of your lies and manipulations. They were the one thing I had to be proud of in this world and now they all are gone." The golden arm was pressed so deeply into her skin that surely a mark had already been formed.

"Well then, little brother, you leave me no choice." Cersei used all her force and wielded the dagger in Ser Jaime's direction. Lady Brienne cried out in fear for the Kingslayer. However, despite his disability, he managed to dodge the Queen's dagger and subdue her once again, though this time with more force. The Mad Queen screeched and thrashed, but the golden hand continued to crush against her throat.

Ser Jaime's vision narrowed; his hearing dimmed. Though he could faintly make out the cries of Lady Brienne immobilized on the floor, her demands for him to halt his actions failed to register in his mind. And soon the Queen no longer resisted. Her struggle slowed and she fell limp in his arms. The Kingslayer briefly was taken back to thoughts of Myrcella. She had had the beauty of her mother, but the innocence of a spring flower. She too had died in his arms and he had felt more grief then than he ever had before. But the woman lying dead in his arms now he did not know. He had lost that person long ago and today a stranger lay victim to the Kingslayler – nay – _Queen_ slayer.

Then his reality came crashing back into focus by the urgent calls of a familiar voice. "Jaime!" He looked up from the Queen to see Lady Brienne clutching her belly, blood spilling between her fingers, yet still finding strength to slide herself inch by inch across the floor towards him.

She wasn't in search of aid, he realized. Her desperation was instead out of concern for him. Jaime stared at her with an expressionless face, though in his green eyes she could sense his affliction.

He laid the wilted body of his sister upon the floor, wishing this moment hadn't unfolded the way it had. Gazing upwards once more, Lady Brienne was nearly by his side. He quickly dropped to his knees and reached for her. She grabbed hold of his left hand, her blood making their grip upon one another slippery. And then Ser Jaime locked gazes with the Lady of Tarth. Neither spoke, for everything that needed to be shared was revealed in their eyes. There was a sense of relief, of understanding, and _finally_ , no denial of love.

Ser Jaime pulled Lady Brienne closer and with all the energy he could muster, raised her to her feet. She grimaced in pain and Ser Jaime strengthened his support.

"Oathkeeper," managed Brienne as the pair slowly made their way toward the room's bronze-oak doors.

"We can send for it later, My Lady. For now we must have you tended to," he responded.

"Not the sword," she whispered in return. " _You_."

"Brienne…" he stopped and met her stare.

"Whatever consequences and ridicule that lay ahead for you, I will always know that Ser Jaime Lannister is the noblest of knights and a true keeper of oaths."

To her words he smiled, taking a moment to truly appreciate their value. Continuing, a glint of hope formed in his eye, "Then perhaps I should plead for banishment as my punishment; banishment to Tarth."

Brienne could not help the flush of pink which overtook her face, but she felt no embarrassment as she once would have. Instead his words made her return a smile before looking away and resuming their way forward.

-x-

Lemme end on a note that says: I don't hate Cersei. I think she is a well constructed character and her children were her most powerful motivator. However, she's gone bonkers with power and I think that season 7 will show that escalate to something equivalent to the Mad King. That's why I believe Jaime must kill her. He's changed so much as a person and not only do I think Brienne was a major player in that change, but continuing to unquestionably follow and love Cersei would be a step backwards for his character. Therefore I believe Jaime and Brienne need to run off to Tarth together and have beautiful golden haired babies...*ahem* Or at least just say "I love you" ;)


End file.
